Life after death
by Mill Qs
Summary: There's a time in everyone's life when you think to yourself: God, I'm glad I'm alive (or dead). For Kurosaki Karin, she has these thoughts nearly everyday, even with the darkness approaching her. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The warm summer breeze sped past the teenager as she weaved her way through the cluster of soccer players with the ball. There were six players on each team; girls on one side, boys on the other. Karin Kurosaki ran with full force toward the opposite goal. A boy on the other team caught up to her, smirking. She saw a flash of his excessively blonde hair, as he stuck his leg out in front of her. She grinned as she jumped over his lame attempt to trip her and ran faster. All of her shinigami training really paid off on the soccer field.

It had been roughly three years since she'd become a substitute shinigami, like her brother Ichigo. It was when two hollows attacked her school; there was only one shinigami fighting and he didn't do much besides injure himself to the point of death. Before he died, however, he told her to grab his zanpakuto and stab herself with it if she wished to save the others. Karin accepted his offer and did as told; due to her experience with kendo, she had easily defeated the hollows. Kisuke Urahara was especially pleased by this and offered to train her.

The onlookers cheered for Karin as she got nearer to the net. She positioned herself on the left side of the net, smirking at the frightened goalie. He tried to be brave and block her kick, but knew as much as the others how powerful they were. When the ball charged at the boy at full force, he instinctively dodged and plummeted into the ground.

It was now 4 to 1 and the girls on Karin's team smiled smugly at the boys. They teased and pointed at them, riling them up. It was when she started to loosen up and enjoy the fun atmosphere that she heard her soul phone beep. She cursed under her breath as she pulled out the noisy gadget that Kisuke had given her. The device located the spirit at the local park.

"I have to go, guys. Win the game for me!" she yelled, ignoring her teammates' pleas to stay. She ran into the direction of the hollow; it was in the playground, preying on two innocent female spirits, luckily there were no people in the area as she took out her brother's substitute shinigami badge and forced her shinigami form to shoot out. Her body was now sprawled out on the grass; she moved it to a nearby bench so nothing would endanger the body. She now stood, wearing a black shihakusho, looking at the hideous black mass that was roughly the size of a small house. His mask was a plain oval; just white with red circling its yellow eyes. She noted that there was already a small crack in the middle of the hollow's face and took her zanpakuto out of its sheath.

When the hollow finally noticed Karin, he turned and smiled devilishly at her. He raised his arm to attack, chanting: "A yummy shinigami!"

Karin deflected his hit with her zanpakuto, which caused a gust of wind to release due to the pressure. She turned her head to face the two terrified ghosts and shouted, "Get out of here!"

She decided to end this quickly as she said, "Detonate. Yami o Bakuhatsu." A blast of air encircled Karin. She flash stepped next to the hollow and slashed his arm. Followed by the cut, came an explosion that blasted the arm off. With a high pitched shriek, he flailed his other arm trying to hit the woman, but she vanished, causing him to hit a tree instead. Before he could even turn his head, she materialized to the right side of his mask and struck it, causing another bloodcurdling scream as his body started to break down and float to the sky.

Karin put Yami o Bakuhatsu back into its sheath and strolled back to the spot she'd left her body. When she got to the bench, there were spots of red all over the grass.

_Oh no._

A wave of fear and horror overwhelmed her as she kept her eyes down. Her fists tightened, causing her knuckles to turn white. After she positioned herself like that, staring at her feet, she slowly let her eyes wander up to see the face. Yes, it was hers; nothing could change that now. Tears started to stream down her cheek as she stumbled to the ground. Karin looked around and felt for another's spiritual pressure, but there was nothing. She hadn't even noticed anything while she was fighting that weak hollow! She fought the urge to break down and sob as she tightened her fist.

'_I need to get to Urahara's shop,' _she thought, breaking into a sprint. It took all her strength to keep her mind on getting to her destination and not to the bloody corps that lay in the park.

"What are you doing here?" Jinta asked.

"Move," she growled. The red headed boy was about to refuse until he saw the desperate expression on her face and side stepped to let her through. He followed her as she made her way to the man with the green striped hat and clogs. She ignored the man's welcomes and tried to steady her voice to no effect. Her words came out strained and uneven. "Someone killed me."

Urahara's narrowed as he put his fan away. "What happened?" he asked seriously.

"I-I was fighting a hollow and when I came back to my body, it was covered in blood."

The former Captain thought for a moment, there was none of his usual silliness in his eyes as he stared into her dark eyes. "You know better than to leave your body unprotected," he said sternly. "Where is it?"

"It's in the park next to the bench." He nodded. "I can't go home," she added. "Ichigo will never forgive me if I came like this."

"It would be better you went like this and tell him now than let the police inform them of what happened," Tessai reasoned.

She closed her eyes tightly. "What will happen to me?"

"Let's talk about this later with your family," Kisuke said as he walked out with Tessai, leaving Karin with Jinta.

He looked at her, with genuine concern in his eyes. It was out of character for him to pity, but the situation called for some support. The red headed boy faced her as he spoke. "Don't cry about it, just go home and talk to Ichigo. He'll get it."

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out; instead, she followed his advice and left Urahara shop.

**(A/N): Hello, other people of fanfiction! Thanks for reading this story! This is my first HitsuKarin story so please be kind! I will update if you like... R&R please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to:**

**Generalmayhem02, Guest, nikess96, Plexer and Monster paramome for reviewing **

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**Aquacristina, Masterliful, bookwormlovesanime, btstfn, finchyyy, BosRonald, nikess96 and forever122 for following!**

Chapter 2

Karin subconsciously pulled herself into the direction of her family's clinic, groaning as she neared it. She couldn't hide the panic on her face as she saw a certain orange haired brother step outside the door. She winced, seeing his face creased with worry and anger made her scared to face him. She was about to avoid the meeting by slowly walking back when he motioned for her to get inside the house. When they safely bypassed their father treating a group of injured construction workers, they made their way up to Ichigo's room.

"What the hell were you thinking, getting yourself involved with hollows?!" he boomed.

"The same reason you did!" she defended. "You're not the only one who has people to protect."

"You aren't supposed to protect anyone, I am."

"You weren't there; you don't know anything," she hissed, crossing her arms. She fought hollows to help souls, shouldn't he be proud? All she really wanted was for him to be proud of her- tell her that helping those spirits get to safety was the right thing to do. But he was too blinded by his overprotective nature to even give that a thought.

"Damn it, Karin." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and stumbled back upon seeing Rukia suddenly appear on the windowsill. He helped her into the house as his expression lightened. "Hey, Rukia, mind giving me a hand here with Karin?" he sighed.

She looked to Karin and stopped. "Karin, why are you…?"

"She was stupid and got herself killed!" the bright haired man exclaimed.

Karin's eyes widened with shock. "How did you know I'm dead?"

"Urahara called me," Ichigo explained. She silently cursed the lying shopkeeper as Ichigo asked, "Why didn't you tell me you're a shinigami?" Karin felt the sting of angry tears, threatening to blur her vision as she choked them down.

The young Kurosaki suppressed the urge to hit him, clutching the sword attached to her hip instead. "You're kidding, right? Like how you told me about you?" she scoffed. "Yeah, I knew about everything. You never told me _anything_ and you expect me to just tell you things?" Her eyes were absolutely livid as her reiatsu flared.

"Karin, please calm down," Rukia said. The other woman begrudgingly complied and constrained the leaking pressure. "You two aren't helping the situation by shouting at each other." She turned to Ichigo and said, "I think it would be best for Karin to come to the Soul Society with me."

Ichigo's head snapped up at the statement. "No," he said sternly. There was no way he could let his little sister go to the Soul Society; it was too dangerous there. He shook his head, opposing it further.

"She needs to learn to control her abilities. The Shino Academy would be the best place for her. Karin is obviously skilled; we should send her to a place she can curb her abilities."

The raven haired girl sighed. "Look, Rukia, I really want to go to the Soul Society, but I'm _not_ going to the Academy. I've already been training for three years. Tessai taught me kido, I learned how to fight from Urahara, and even Yoruichi said that I could easily defeat a captain!"

"Wait, they all trained you?" Ichigo asked, surprised for the umpteenth time that day.

"Yeah, so I won't to go to the Academy."

Ichigo thought for a moment to take in what he'd just heard. Tessai, Urahara and Yoruichi were all very good teachers, he knew that much, but she couldn't have accomplished very much if she was always so busy with school and soccer. "How long did you train for?" he wondered aloud.

"I trained ten to twelve to hours a day."

Ichigo almost fainted; it was too much. The two women tried to calm him down, but to no avail; he just roared louder. "How the hell do you train that long without me knowing?"

"Urahara gave me some soul candy and told me not to worry…"

There was a sudden shift in tone as the man stood up. His face was blank, but he radiated anger. "Fight me," he said, taking the substitute shinigami badge from her. He held it to his chest and forced his spirit form out. The young girl gaped at her brother's sword; it was the biggest one she'd ever seen. Her confidence wavered when she felt the excess gravity pouring onto her. _'He really needs to control his reiatsu better,'_ she thought dryly.

Being dragged out of the house by her brother's strong grip, she could tell she was being led to the underground training grounds to fight, disregarding Rukia's constant cries of opposition and Kisuke's irritating welcomes, they went down to the 'basement'. The girl realized she was going to miss Urahara's store as her gaze moved across the rocky ground. She rescued her wrist from his grasp and massaged the pain away. She was knocked back to her senses by a blunt hit to the head. "What the hell was that for?"

"If you win against me, I won't make you go to the Academy. If you don't, you'll have to do everything I say." He pulled out his zanpakuto and smiled confidently, taking a defensive stance. "Deal?" Karin nodded. There was amusement in his eyes, watching her hesitantly unsheathe the sword. He was contemplating whether or not to use his shikai until he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He lifted his other hand to the pained area, finding it damp with blood. _'Damn, I got distracted.'_ He pulled his mind away from his thoughts and flash- stepped to where his sister went.

She smirked. "I'm not going easy on you, Ichigo," she said as their swords clashed. She seemed to enjoy fighting very much as hesitation left her. _'This is going to be tough,'_ Ichigo thought.

"Zangetsu!" he called, releasing a powerful energy wave. Karin flash- stepped toward another tall rock, avoiding the blast. A grin tugged at the ends of her lips, giving her a menacing aura. A shiver ran down the orange haired Kurosaki's spine as he listened to her laugh. She reminded him of Zaraki Kenpachi and his love for battle. "Don't hold back; release your bankai," she urged, "and I won't hold back either. Detonate, Yami o Bakuhatsu." An enormous amount of reiatsu released from her zanpakuto, encircling her. The sword she held did not change much except the color of the hilt went from red to black. Ichigo stood dumbfounded by her power, reacting instinctively to her attack, only to be blown back on contact with her blade.

"What the…?" He stood back up with confused eyes, looking to his dark haired opponent for answers.

"My zanpakuto's name is Yami o Bakuhatsu (Exploding Darkness). Her shikai form explodes anything it hits or cuts. You're lucky I'm not using my bankai, otherwise you'd be dead." She ran towards him and slashed his shihakusho, careful not to touch his body. The clothing on his stomach was blown off, revealing his reddened skin. He stood back up, ignoring the burning pain.

Righting himself, he knew it was time to unleash his real power. "Bankai." He placed his right arm onto his left; there was a blue glow surrounding him as he released a crippling amount of spirit energy. The white cloth that held his sword wrapped itself around his arm, covering up until his shoulder. Zangetsu shrank down to a standard sized daito and his shihakusho was replaced with an ankle length black coat. Karin's eyes twinkled with pleasure, enjoying fighting the phenomenon that was her brother.

She flash- stepped toward him again, aiming to cut his coat. Just as she was about to reach it, an incredible speed took her brother across the space in an instant. Karin followed him to a boulder, striking the glistening, black sword. To her dismay, he was not blown back but his sword absorbed the zanpakuto's power.

"Zangetsu's bankai amplifies all of my powers," he smirked. Ichigo stroke again with incredible speed, letting his long coat swish wildly. Karin was finding it harder and harder to keep up with the reenergized shinigami.

In a moment of distraction, Karin found herself clutching her right leg. It was cut deeply, giving Karin a hard time focusing on her opponent. She needed a new plan.

"Bakudo, number 1, Sai!" she yelled. Ichigo's arms were now locked behind his back as he fell face first to the ground."Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado number 31, Shakkaho!" She aimed the spell directly at the struggling Ichigo, creating a slight dip in the ground.

"Shit, Karin, that's cheating!" he complained, struggling to get up.

"There is no cheating in a fight. Hado number 33, Sokatsui!" A blast of blue spiritual energy shot out of her fingers, hitting Ichigo again.

Persistence overcoming him, the man stood up and walked out of the dust. "You're pretty strong," he praised. His hands were shaky as he wiped away the blood dripping into his eyes. "But can you take this?" He raised Zangetsu and slashed the air shouting, "Gentsuga Tensho!"

Karin just barely dodged the attack and made her way to her bedraggled brother. She smiled and said, "I win."

Ichigo grimaced, finally admitting defeat. He looked over to his sister, feeling a bit ashamed that he hadn't even landed a good hit on her even with bankai. "Back there, you said if you used your bankai I'd be dead. Does that mean you've already reached it?" he asked, struggling to stay awake. She nodded and carefully put his arm over her shoulder and led him back up to the shop.

* * *

"Thanks for coming, Orihime. I know you were on a date with Uryu tonight, but Ichigo is really hurt," Karin said sheepishly.

"Wow, Karin, you did this to him?" the red head exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I kinda feel bad for messing him up like this."

A third voice laughed. "He deserves a beating every now and then, Karin. I am very impressed. When we get to the Soul Society, I will speak to my Captain about getting you an officer's rank."

"Thanks, Rukia. And I have a question to ask you," she said.

"What is it?"

"Why do I look younger when I'm a shinigami than my body?"

"You became a shinigami at fifteen, am I right?" She nodded. "Shinigami age much slower than normal humans; perhaps ten years will pass before your body ages a year. If you became a shinigami at fifteen, you should stay fifteen for a long time."

"Oh. How old are you then?"

Rukia thought for a moment, looking up to the ceiling. "I'm not sure. I've lost count after a while," she said pensively. "I died very young, so I age even slower than the others."

Karin nodded as an awkward silence shrouded the room.

"So when will you two leave for the Soul Society?" Orihime asked cheerfully.

"We will leave tomorrow if Ichigo is up by then," Rukia answered.

"Do you think that everyone will be alright?" Karin asked sadly.

"Of course they will!" Orhime said reassuringly. "They're Kurosaki's, remember?"

Karin nodded. "But I'm worried about Yuzu. She never took death well and who knows how she'll take it when she hears." Karin shook her head of all her bad thoughts, putting on a fake smile. "So, Orihime, how are you and Uryu doing?" Karin watched as the older woman got flustered; a faint blushed crawled onto her cheeks as she tried to focus on healing the unconscious Kurosaki.

"W-what do you mean, Karin? We're doing well."

"I mean how are you _doing_?" Orihime reddened even more at the suggestive tone in her voice.

"Stop embarrassing her, Karin," Rukia intervened.

"Fine, I'll stop teasing her." She switched her attention to the dark haired shinigami and asked, "Why do you like my brother?"

Her eyes grew to the size of saucers as she lowered her head to hide the blush creeping onto her face. "I don't like that strawberry," she muttered unconvincingly.

"That's very convincing," Karin said sarcastically.

"Do _you_ like anybody?"

"Of course not!" she said too forcefully, giving herself away.

Their eyes widened. "Karin! You like a boy?" Orihime beamed. "Who is he? What is he like?"

"It's just someone I used to know." The youngest party looked down to her lap, thinking about the silver haired boy she'd met seven years ago. Now that she was going to the Soul Society, she might as well find him. Although she'd never admit it, she'd been missing him since the last time she saw him four years ago. Toshiro came to visit her at least once every five months, but after she turned fourteen, he never came back. "Do you know who the people with those white haoris are?" she asked, recalling the garment Toshiro had worn.

"Are you talking about the Captains?" the busty red head asked. When Karin shrugged, Orihime clarified. "There are 13 divisions in the Soul Society and each have their own Captains. They are like the military there and they fight hollows and other bad people."

'_She looks like a child explaining the rules of a game,' _Karin smiled at her cheerful friend, wondering how a strange (but awesome) guy like Uryu got her. Then she processed Orihime's words: Toshiro was a Captain. _'No wonder he's so strong,'_ she understood. _'Well this makes finding him a lot easier.'_ Karin looked up to them with an expectant look in her eyes. "Is there a Captain named Toshiro?"

**(A/N): Hello! I'd just like to say that this story is pretty much going to be Janglish (Japanese and English combined) 'cause I don't really like some words in Japanese but like them in English and vice versa. I suck at writing action so please don't judge the story because of the the sucky fight scenes! I promise to put Toshiro in in the next chapter! Hope you like it! Review please! .**


	3. Chapter 3

Karin walked through the Soul Society following her guide, Kuchiki Rukia, blindly through the busy streets of the Seireitei. The teenager gaped at the large groups of shinigami casually strolling around the town; there were more than she had even guessed existed. Suddenly, Karin felt a bit overwhelmed by the situation: new place, new people, and new life. She wasn't Kurosaki Karin, Karakura's soccer expert; she was Kurosaki Karin, shinigami.

The thought gave her a thrill, as well as a sense of loss. Her feelings were so confusing, on one hand, she loved the idea of starting over, but on the other, Karin missed the family she left behind. Of course, she couldn't have stayed even if she wanted to, but leaving just didn't feel right. Shaking the thoughts, she put the memories of her beloved family in a box and locked it in her heart, deciding to live in the present. With renewed enthusiasm, Karin looked around her, taking in the sight of the feudal Japan style houses and offices. Having lived in a modern society for her whole life with cars and towering buildings, Karin was fascinated by the lack of electricity.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Karin bumped into Rukia, who abruptly stopped. The woman's violet eyes twinkled when she pointed at the building branded with the number 13. "This is my division," she said, ushering the teenager inside. "My Captain has been waiting to meet you, Karin." She chuckled softly at the bemused expression on her friend's face. "I've told him about your situation and agreed to write a letter of recommendation to help you enter one of the squads," she explained, stopping outside a small lodging.

Karin nodded absentmindedly, her attention going to the ridiculous argument between a small, blonde haired woman and a tall, dark haired man. She tried to stifle the laughter with a hand pressed against her mouth, but their silly dispute about who loves the Captain more was just too funny that her hand dropped and she let out a loud laugh. The two did not seem to notice as they continued to bicker.

Rukia gently pulled the laughing Karin to the door and knocked. The two heard a faint "come in" and entered. In the room was a man, sitting on a blanket, smiling kindly at them. His sickly pallor was not unnoticed and Karin wondered if he was alright. Right when he was about to speak, the Captain suddenly started to cough uncontrollably. Karin found it painful to watch the man cough like that, but before she could do anything to help, he put a hand up to stop her. In less than a second, the blonde and black haired shinigami from earlier came rushing into the room with worried expressions. Rukia instantly stopped the protesting duo and sends them outside. _'Why would she do that? Shouldn't she be worried as well?'_ Karin wondered.

When the sickly man recovers, he smiles brightly to Karin despite his condition. "Don't worry about me," he said, folding the handkerchief and putting it away. "It isn't anything serious," he said, waving it off. She nodded, still unconvinced, but not wanting to press the matter. "Well, I suppose you are Kurosaki Karin?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied, fumbling with her fingers, being uncharacteristically shy.

"It's nice to meet you then, Miss Kurosaki."

"Thanks, you too," she mumbled, looking down to her lap. Why was she so nervous? Karin didn't understand. Was it the fact he was one of the best looking men she'd ever seen? Or perhaps it was just the fact he was so high in rank. She didn't know which, but it didn't change the fact that she was looking like an idiot. Annoyed with her own actions, Karin straightened her posture and stared at the white haired Captain with a smirk. "Call me Karin."

He chuckled at the sudden change in demeanor. '_Her expressions are exactly like Ichigo's,'_ he mused. "Now let's talk about that letter of recommendation," he said, picking up a paper and brush. "What would you like me to say?"

"You're just going to give it to me, no questions asked?" the girl asked incredulously.

"I trust my lieutenant's judgment," he said, nodding to Rukia. "If she says you are skilled, I do not see any reason not to give this letter to you."

"Thanks."

"It's no problem at all, Karin," he smiled.

* * *

When the two women exited the building, they were greeted by a red haired man with strange tattoos above his eyebrows. "Hey, Rukia!" he waved, running to her. When his eyes finally fell on Karin, he gave Rukia a confused look. "Who's she?"

"After all those times he freeloaded off of us, you'd think he'd recognize me," Karin said dryly. "But then again, you've never had enough brain cells to do anything other than breathe, have you?"

Though irritated, the red head didn't retort. Instead, he went back to looking at the girl for a few more minutes. It took a great deal of restraint for Karin not to laugh at the man who suddenly paled and sweat dropped. "Nice of you to remember me, Pineapple," she said, smirking.

"Shut up, kid. Does Ichigo know you're here?" he asked, suddenly very grave.

The girls both nodded. "He even gave me permission," Karin said. _'After I kicked his ass, of course,'_ she added to herself.

Renji gave her a skeptical look, but not wanting to be any more involved than he already was, just left with a quick goodbye to Rukia.

* * *

The next day, Rukia and Karin made an appointment to meet with Head Captain Yamamoto. The two waited patiently in front of his desk as he continued his paperwork. When he finally looked up, Karin felt a bit intimidated by his experienced gaze and strong reiatsu. "What business do you have with me?" he asked, putting down his brush.

"This is Kurosaki Karin," Rukia said, motioning to her companion. "She is a skilled shinigami and would like to join the 13 Court Guard Squads. Here is a recommendation letter from Captain Ukitake." She handed him the letter. "If you need to see her skills for yourself, Karin would be happy to demonstrate."

"There is no need, lieutenant Kuchiki. I have already been watching her progress in the World of the Living," he said knowingly, tossing the letter to the side, not even bothering to read it. "I am very impressed by the power you possess and know that you will be a great asset to us."

"Thank you, sir," Karin said, respectfully bowing.

"There is an open position as the third seat of the 5th division. You will take the post until a more suitable one opens."

"What do you mean by a more suitable position, sir?" Rukia asked, furrowing her brow at the sentence.

Yamamoto leaned back in his chair and stared at Rukia. "Kurosaki Karin is much too powerful to be a third seat, so she must wait until a position that suits her is open." He shifted to meet Karin's gaze. "I believe you can do well. Do not disappoint me."

* * *

That night, Karin was drawn into her inner world.

_Karin found herself standing in a dark setting. The only lights were the stars and the moon drifting steadily around her. She turned her attention to the woman sitting on the bright orb with a fan stretched out in front of her face. She was dressed in a black and red kimono and her long, raven hair was pulled back with a golden hair stick. Her zanpakuto was oddly the polar opposite of Karin in personality. Karin was loud and impolite while Yami o Bakuhatsu was quiet and mannerly. She was graceful and collected, but Karin was not. Karin had no confidence in anything other than her fighting skills but the zanpakuto was very self-assured and content with herself. Karin had no idea how she could be the reflection of her soul and sometimes wondered if somehow there was some kind of mix up._

"_Hello," Yami greeted._

"_What am I doing here?" Karin asked, clearly irritated._

"_You seek comfort and I wish to help."_

"_I don't want comfort," the shorter haired girl grumbled. She heard the other woman chuckle and crossed her arms. "What's so funny, Yami?"_

"_You always forget that I am you too, thus I know all of your pain and sorrows. I also know that you want to be comforted." Putting on a genuinely concerned face, Yami o Bakuhatsu moved off the moon and glided over to her master's side. "Tell me what's wrong," she cooed._

"_I thought you already know what's wrong," Karin said dryly._

"_I do, but you'll feel better if you tell me."_

_Karin sighed and sat on a nearby star, putting her head on the palms of her hands. "I keep thinking about Yuzu and Ichigo and dad."_

"_And why do they make you sad?"_

"_I'm sad because… I miss them- even goat chin." She looked dejectedly down to her lap. "I feel guilty too, I mean, Yuzu's always been pretty sensitive to death so she'll be crying for weeks. Ichigo's probably out with Urahara, trying to catch who killed me and why… and dad… he always tried his best to be a good dad- granted he was stupid most of the time- but he tried. He's probably bawling right now. I guess just feel like I put everyone in a bad place."_

"_It isn't your fault for dying."_

"_It _is_ my fault I died. If I'd taken better care of my body I wouldn't have been killed!" she shouted, wiping away a few rogue tears. "Damn these tears," she cursed, trying to hide her face from the other woman._

"_This person was likely waiting for you."_

"_What? How do you know that?" _

"_You didn't sense, hear or see the killer, did you? You and I both know that it is very difficult to get past you. How could they have done that without some sort of planning? This person was definitely trying to harm you," Yami reasoned._

"_Why would anyone want to do that? I'm not important enough to kill."_

_Yami shrugged, looking up at the girl. Her black eyes flickered with mischief in the moonlight as she smiled devilishly at Karin. "You're not very sad, are you?"_

"_Of course I'm sad," Karin answered. _

"_You are only sad because of your family. You aren't upset at all that you died."Karin considered this for a moment. Was Yami right? Was she happy to be dead or just accepting? "You're as dense as your brother," she sighed, shaking her head disappointedly. _

"_No I'm not!"_

"_Then tell me why it doesn't bother you that you've died." Yami o Bakuhatsu glanced smugly at the girl beside her, knowing the answer wouldn't come. "You were waiting to come and find that white haired boy you think of so often, haven't you?" she asked, phrasing the inquisition more as a statement than an actual question. Before the other could refute the ludicrous accusation, the background faded into the light of consciousness._

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro sat at his desk that afternoon, busily doing paperwork. He was glad his noisy lieutenant, Matsumoto Rankgiku, wasn't there to disturb his peace for there were important documents to sign. As he sipped some tea, his eyes fell on empty sake bottles lying in dark corners across the office. He scowled, reminding himself to yell at his blonde nuisance later.

When he looked up to the clock, Toshiro noticed it was almost time for lunch with Momo. The two friends always met each other for lunch if there was nothing important to take care of. Toshiro made his way toward the 5th Division, hoping to make it before she gives him another lecture on punctuality. He rolled his eyes just thinking about it.

The small Captain moved through the halls of the headquarters to the main office. Ever since Aizen left, there hasn't been another shinigami to replace him, so Momo was obligated to take command and be his substitute until a new Captain was introduced. When he reached the door, he noticed that it was closed, which was odd since she always kept it open.

Deciding to come back at another time, Toshiro turned to the exit. Just as he took a step, the man heard muffled laughter and footsteps. He turned back, choosing not to be rude and greet Momo's guest. The door swung open in one quick motion, revealing a cute, mousy girl and a beautiful teenager with shoulder length black hair and a smile on her face. When Toshiro's teal eyes fell on a pair of familiar gray ones, he stopped breathing.

It was Kurosaki Karin.

She was in the Soul Society.

Hitsugaya struggled to keep his face impassive, looking directly ahead to a wall.

* * *

Ukitake Jushiro and Kyoraku Shunsui came into the 5st division headquarters talking about an upcoming social event they were throwing. The two were there to confirm plans with Momo for a gathering for all officers in the 13 Court Guard Squads.

"My Nanao is being mean to me again," Kyoraku pouted. "She's given me a mountain of paperwork the size of Byakuya's ego!" In mid step, Kyoraku stopped, staring at a girl across the hallway. He pulled his confused friend along with him behind a corner.

"What's wrong, Shunsui?" Ukitake asked, concern filling his eyes.

"That woman… I think I've seen her before…"

The white haired Captain carefully slid his face out from behind the wall, looking for the woman Shunsui spoke of. All he could see was his good friend, Hitsugaya Toshiro and Hinamori Momo. He laughed softly at his friend. "That's just Hinamori Momo, come out from there and let's go speak to her."

"No, the other woman." He pointed to the dark haired girl behind Momo, staring at Toshiro.

"Oh, that's Kurosaki Karin, Kurosaki Ichigo's younger sister," Ukitake said, then gasped when he saw the girl in question suddenly burst a smile and pull the Captain into a tight hug. "I wonder what kind of relationship they have…" Jushiro thought aloud.

The brunette gave his friend a wicked grin and said, "Let's listen."

Jushiro nodded, too curious to be polite. The two suppressed their reiatsus and stayed quietly behind the corner to watch their conversation.

* * *

"Shiro, you know Karin?" Momo asked with incredulous eyes.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya and yes, Hinamori, I do. We will have to cancel lunch today. Please leave so I can speak to Kurosaki in private," he ordered. Momo left the two to speak in the hallway and snuck back into her office. "What do you think you're doing here, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked a bit too forcefully.

"Don't I feel welcomed," Karin said sarcastically. "I'm surprised, Toshiro. I thought you'd treat your subordinates better."

He scoffed, obviously oblivious to her outfit and zanpakuto. "You're not a shinigami. Now tell me what you're really doing here."

"I never pegged you for the denial type," she teased.

"I am not in denial, I am merely wondering what you're doing here," he stated coolly.

Karin laughed. "You haven't changed at all!"

"Shut up, Kurosaki! Now answer my question."

Karin pointed at her shihakusho and rolled her eyes. "I died, Toshiro. Have some sympathy," she said, giving her best fake- sad face.

"What happened?" he asked, concern filling his wide, teal eyes.

"Something stupid, I'll tell you another time," Karin said, avoiding the question. Her face fell almost unnoticeably, but being a keen observer, Hitsugaya noticed. But not wanting to push it, Hitsugaya decided to drop the subject. He instead, folded his arms over his front and glowered at her. "You haven't changed much yourself," he muttered.

She scratched the back of her head and beamed at him. "Yeah, I haven't, I guess. I… missed you, though, Toshiro," she admitted, forcing down a blush.

Seeing the bashful Karin made Toshiro's own heart race. He glanced at her while she stared at the wall and noticed how little she has changed in four years. The only real difference is her hair length. He remembered how short and boyish it had been when he first met her and looked lovingly at the face framed by dark bangs.

"Me too," he whispered, causing the girl to look at him. As he stared into her eyes, he realized how much he'd missed them. Those gray pools were the most beautiful sight to him. Snapping out of his daze, he forced out a cough and unfolded his arms. "Now what are you doing _here_?" he inquired.

"I'm the new third seat of the 5th division," she said proudly.

"What?" His eyes flicked to hers in utter shock. Didn't she say she died a few days ago? How did she become a shinigami so quickly? He thought for a few moments, not coming up with any possible explanations.

"You heard me. Now answer one of my questions," she demanded. "Why did you stop visiting me?" she asked, letting a bit of sadness seep into her voice. "You promised you would try."

"I've been… busy," Toshiro replied. It wasn't a complete lie, of course he was busy, but his once- in- a- blue- moon- visits were stopped abruptly by the Head Captain's insistence. For some reason, Yamamoto decided it was not safe for the white haired shinigami to wander the World of The Living as often as he did. He avoided her crestfallen gaze and added, "It's not like I had time to babysit you every day, Kurosaki."

Her crestfallen expression morphed into one of rage. _Babysit? Babysit. Babysit!_ The word was repeated in her mind over and over again, infuriating her further each time. In a fit of anger, Karin tightened her hand into a fist and punched Toshiro right in the nose. The teal eyed Captain brought his hands up instinctively in a pointless attempt to stop the blood from flowing onto his clothes. She stalked off to who knows where, leaving three shocked Captains in her wake.

He was definitely going to regret saying that.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Karin lazily pulled herself from bed, groaning as the cold air touched her exposed skin. Her mind fell into an inner turmoil, deciding whether she should go to work or not. This ended with the girl surrendering to her sleepiness and falling back into her warm covers. After a few more minutes of motionless peace, Karin popped her head up, realizing she had revenge to plan and not a whole lot of time to do it. It turned out that having a job didn't really leave much time for conspiring against snowy haired Captains.

She scratched her head and went on to do her morning rituals, realizing in the middle of changing that she was hungry. Karin knew there was a dining hall somewhere in the barracks, but she was never a big fan of cafeteria food and it would be bothersome to eat there for every meal. She then thought about going over to Toshiro's place and mooching some food off of him, but shook the thought out of her head as soon as it had entered. She reminded herself that, for now, he was the enemy and proceeded to think about her food plans and revenge.

Just when she was about to go sneak into Rukia's place, there was a light knock at the door. Karin moved through her small room and opened the door to a cheerful Hinamori Momo. She was holding a plate of food in her hands, smiling.

"Good morning, Karin!" she chirped. "I brought this for you as a thank you for yesterday. You really helped me," she said, handing her the dish.

"Thanks, Momo and relax. It's my job to do whatever you tell me, remember?" Karin replied, smiling back. She pushed the door open and gestured her to enter. "Come on in."

The brown eyed girl nodded her head with an even brighter smile tugging at her lips and stepped inside. The two sat across each other with Karin on the bed and Momo on a spare chair. Karin unceremoniously wolfed down her food and complimented the girl's cooking skills.

"Thank you, but I don't cook that well, Karin. I'm sure you can cook better," she replied, waving her hand modestly.

At the comment, Karin laughed. "I can cook as well as my brother can control his reiatsu and we both know how bad he is at that."

"I'm sure you're not _that_ terrible," Momo assured, laughing slightly.

"Whatever. So, Momo…" she said in between bites, "how long have you known Toshiro?"

"Shiro? I've known him since we were little," Hinamori answered, gazing reminiscently at a wall.

"Then do you know anything that annoys him a lot?"

"Well he hates being called Shiro or short."

"No, I mean something that he _really_ hates."

"Um, I'm not sure…"

"Wait! Does he have any fears? Like something that will make him shit his pants," Karin asked expectantly.

"None that I know of…" Hinamori replied, giving her friend a confused look.

The young Kurosaki sighed and thought for a moment. _'Toshiro, Toshiro… What makes him tick?_' she wondered. Then it hit her. '_Well, Toshiro really hates attention and I've never seen him interact with any girls other than Rangiku and Momo... so maybe he's afraid of women,_' Karin pondered. She knew it was a long shot but it was worth a chance, right? She smirked at the thought of Hitsugaya Toshiro, the legendary ice Captain of the 10th, afraid of women. It was the riskiest idea she's had all day- other than blowing his hair up with her zanpakuto- so she needed to make sure.

"Hey, Momo, does Toshiro have any friends that are girls?"

"Well there's me, Rangiku… and I think Kuchiki Rukia and Inoue Orihime are close acquaintances," Momo answered, giving Karin another confused look. "Why are you asking all of these questions, Karin?"

"It's nothing," she replied with a wicked grin.

'_This is going to be good.'_

* * *

Toshiro walked out of his office, needing a break from the nauseating smell of Rangiku's 'fun night out'. How much could one woman drink? When Toshiro reached the middle of the hallway, he noticed that he could still smell the liquor and decided to go outside.

Outside, Toshiro found it to be very peaceful; there was no work, no drunken lieutenants, nothing but him and a tree. Toshiro leaned on the trunk and stared up at its leaves. He thought about how he was going to get Rangiku to behave, going through different methods of reprimand. He thought about how tough it must have been for Momo to take care of a division all by herself without a Captain to help lift the burden. Then he thought about Karin.

He knew she was still angry with him so he gave her space to cool off. It had been three days since he last saw her; three _very_ long days. He knew Karin very well and knew that she wasn't going let his little comment go without a fight just yet. He buried his face in his hands with frustration creasing his face.

What would she do to him?

He went through different possibilities of torture and they all ended badly. He decided that he needed to go see her- apologize, anything! He didn't want to die so soon. So, he started walking with determination out of the division gates outside until he heard a scream. He stopped. The scream wasn't a shrill, frightening scream that belonged to a hollow; it was a high pitched, fan girl shriek. He raised his head to find a mob of women surrounding him. They were all holding little Toshiro dolls and posters that read 'Captain Hitsugaya FOREVER!' with hearts everywhere. The only thing that he could think before they attacked was, '_What the hell?'_

The women pulled on his haori, pulled at his hair, pulled at his everything, really. He tried to run away, but there was no space to flash step or even move for that matter. They were rabid and he was- for the first time in his life- genuinely scared. Not even fighting could compare to the sheer terror that shot through his body when a dainty looking woman pulled his body with unbelievable strength into hers and held it there for the longest minute of his life.

He tried to shout and push them off of him to no avail; his voice was drowned out by the yelling of deranged females and his arms without Hyorinmaru were just as useless against fifty women. Finally, the horde loosened and he had enough space to run out all but screaming. He suppressed his reiatsu and ran with incredible speed.

The fan girls were hot on his trail until he ducked into a nearby hut. He stood, panting heavily until their screams were out of earshot. He made his way to a small seat in the middle of the empty shack and let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, there was a flash of spiritual pressure behind him that made him angry. He turned to face the other shinigami and scowled.

"What's up, Toshiro?" she asked casually.

He shot her a pointed look and crossed his arms. "You sent those… _animals_ after me, didn't you?" he growled.

"I never _sent_ anyone after you… I just tracked down your fan club and told them some things." She smirked, angering the silver haired Captain.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What _kind_ of things?"

She shrugged, smiling wickedly. "I just said that you were single, not gay and looking for someone."

"That's low- even for you, Kurosaki," he grumbled.

"Hey, it's not my fault that people actually like you, you know." She crossed her arms and added, "Although I can't imagine why."

"Says the girl who couldn't even get a date to her middle school dance," Toshiro scoffed, getting up from his seat to glower down at her.

"You _know_ the guys at my school! They were all idiots!" She unfolded her arms, stomped her foot down indignantly and stepped closer to him. "I could have gotten anyone I wanted," she muttered.

"Right," he said, rolling his eyes.

She narrowed her eyes. "That's right, Toshiro, get your laughs in now and I'll just go call those girls over here."

He paled at the thought and blocked her. "Don't do it."

She grinned at him, sucked in a huge breath and bellowed out, "I FOUND-" before Hitsugaya clamped a hand over her mouth.

She shook the hand off and stuck her tongue out at him.

Toshiro sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said the other day. I shouldn't have said it," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Satisfied?"

"You should have just said that earlier, midget!" she said, punching his arm playfully.

Toshiro growled darkly and yelled, "I'm taller than you now!"

Karin crossed her arms and examined him up and down. "It's probably just the hair." She pointed at his gravity defying locks and smirked.

The vein on his forehead grew. "I AM NOT SHORT!"

And... the mass of girls came back and attacked him again.

'_I hate you, Kurosaki!'_

**(A/N): And that was my hopefully alright attempt at humor. I'm not sure if it was funny or not... but I hope it was! And sorry it took so long to update! I really hate it when I have chapters all done and post- worthy AND your computer decides to not work for literally no reason! Gosh! Oh well. I'm done now and I hope you liked it. So yeah. R&R please! And comment! They mean a lot to me! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was the most amazing sight, his smile. That rare and beautiful twist of the lips that made her heart flutter and stomach stir was all she could think about. Karin longed for that smile to reappear more than ever, especially after falling victim to it again after so many years.

It happened when she brought him a bag of amanatto; it was a simple gesture, and it was the least she could do since she was always mooching food off of him. The look on his face as she handed him the old- man snack was so brief and slight that she almost hadn't caught it, but she did and enjoyed it. Karin sighed and rested her head on the cool desk. She closed her eyes and visualized his face, mostly concentrating on his dazzling green eyes; the shade of pure sea green that darkened when angry and lightened when wistful or content. She loved those eyes more than anything in the world…

'_Ugh,'_ she sighed, _'I need help.'_

Trying to make up for the time she'd lost obsessing, Karin went through Momo's pile of paperwork like there was no tomorrow. When done, she leaned back on the office chair with her hands locked behind her head.

"Oh, Karin!" a sweet voice called. "You did _all_ of this work?"

The grey eyed shinigami replied with a lazy nod.

"But- But I told you to only do a bit!" she sputtered.

Karin gave another nod. "I just felt like doing it."

Momo eyed her friend for a moment, realizing that there was something off about her. "Is there something wrong?" Momo asked with concern.

Karin shook her head and gave a lame smile to her friend. "It's nothing. I was just lost in thought."

"What were you thinking about?"

There was no immediate answer from the dark haired teen, just light, almost undetectable blushing and a stammered "N-nothing".

Unconvinced, Momo quirked her brow with curiosity. It wasn't like Karin to keep secrets, much less lie. "Are you sure?"

The other girl nodded her head furiously, flushing ever so slightly.

"Alright then," the bun haired girl relented, albeit reluctantly. She smiled at Karin and left the room. She spent the rest of the day doing menial tasks around the 5th Squad barracks. But her thoughts kept going back to Karin; she usually didn't lie due to her inability to, and for her to even try meant something wasn't right.

She fruitlessly tried to think of explanations for the 3rd seat's strange behavior, but came up with nothing. Deciding to consult someone with more insight, she ran in search of the 10th division for Rangiku. The woman in question was found napping on the couch, snoring lightly. "Rangiku," she called, lightly shaking the bigger woman.

The blonde woke up with a startled shriek, but grinned warmly when she recognized the other woman. "Momo!" she greeted with a bright smile. "What are you doing here? Is Captain not here?" Matsumoto looked around and found no trace of him.

She shook her head. "No, I was worried about Karin."

"Why?"

"It seemed like she needed to get her mind off of something," she divulged, "like there was something really bothering her."

"But Karin is always thinking about stuff. Don't be such a worrywart, Momo!" the large bosomed woman giggled, hitting the other playfully.

"She also lied to me; she never lies," she replied matter of factly.

"Everyone lies."

"Karin doesn't… and there was something strange in her eyes…"

"What happened?"

Momo thought for a moment. "Well, she looked like she was really deep in thought, almost sad."

"U huh, and…?"

"I can't say for certain, but I think she was a bit red when I saw her. Maybe she has a fever?"

The woman on the couch smirked at the last point. There was a mysterious glint in her eyes as she tapped her chin contemplatively. "Sounds like she's thinking about a boy," she mused.

Momo could feel her jaw drop for a moment before she recovered and eagerly wondered what kind of boy the hard hearted girl would let into her mind. "Why do you say that?"

"Well if you think about it, it's pretty obvious; the blush, the thinking, the lying. It's probably stage six," Matsumoto squealed.

"Stage six?"

"Yes, stage six! When a girl likes a boy, there are six stages she goes through," she said. Rangiku cleared her throat and raised her index finger. Momo thought she gave off a very teacher- like vibe when she explained. "First stage, there are little things you notice about the person, like a particular color they prefer, or their daily routine. After a while, you want to know everything thing about him. Second stage, this is just when you just want to be close to him all the time. You don't know why, but there's just something that pulls you to him. The third stage is much more confusing because you don't really know what's happening. Your body reacts to him by itself; your heart pounds, stomach stirs and you stare at him a lot… After that in stage 4, is basically the dreamlike phase; you're happy whenever you see him, talk to him and especially when he touches you. Stage five is figuring out your feelings and accepting them. Usually, girls tend to avoid seeing the guy until after they realize their feelings and after that, they act strange and sometimes drive him away. The next stage all depends on the last one, though. If you choose to accept your feelings and continue on with him, things will go on just like before, though there will be more blushing. You also think about him constantly." She chuckled at the fascination in Momo's eyes.

"You know a lot about this, Rangiku!" she exclaimed, impressed by the wealth of knowledge she had.

"Well, it's important for every woman to know," she said, flipping he hair to the side.

"So who do you think is the one Karin likes?" Momo asked.

Rangiku smiled again and squealed, "Let's go find out!"

"Come on, Karin!" Matsumoto begged.

"No!"

"Please?" Hinamori pleaded alongside her strawberry blonde friend.

"No, and you can't make me."

"Why won't you?" Rangiku whined.

"I don't do parties," Karin answered flatly.

Matsumoto huffed determinedly. "It's not a party, Karin! It's a social gathering and Momo organized it so you _have_ to go."

"_I don't do parties_," the raven haired girl repeated.

"Please, Karin? It would mean a lot to me…" Momo said softly, giving her most convincing crestfallen face.

The hesitation in her voice was evident as she tried to decline again. "I'm not really all that social, guys."

"It doesn't matter! We'll be there so you don't have to be shy!"

After mulling over her options, she heaved a big sigh of defeat. "Did I really even have a choice in this?"

"Nope!" they both replied at once.

"Are you sure this will work, Rangiku?" Momo asked hesitantly.

"Of course it will! Every man in the Seireitei will be there; if she _does_ like one of them, it should be obvious enough to see," she replied.

"Alright… but I have a bad feeling about it," Momo whispered as Rangiku walked away happily.

**(A/N): Sorry about the long wait! I just couldn't think of anything to write and I don't really like this chapter at all… I swear on my life that the next one will be interesting at the very least. Thanks for continuing to read… **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"What?" Karin asked with an incredulous expression on her face.

"I said it's Captain Hitsugaya," Toshiro repeated dully, eyes glued to his paperwork.

"You never made me call you that before!" she protested.

"I am now, Kurosaki. You clearly need to learn to respect authority and I've been overlooking it this far, but it can't go on anymore. It's tougher here than the World of the Living and others may not be as lenient," he said seriously.

Karin was about to object again but nodded reluctantly. The dark haired girl understood that it was for her own good and the thought that he cared for her wellbeing sent a flutter down to her stomach, as idiotically girly that sounded.

Clearing her throat, she got to the point of her visit. "Well anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the social gathering thing tomorrow night," she said in a deceptively calm voice. In reality, she felt like there was a violent attack of butterflies in her stomach as she waited for his reply.

"I'm busy," he replied curtly.

She frowned. "But you're always busy!" she exclaimed. "Would ditching one night of work hurt?"

"Yes."

"Come on, Toshiro! I'm going to be alone with Rangiku and Momo all night talking to strangers."

"It's Captain Hitsugaya," he snapped, "and you shouldn't have accepted the invitation if you didn't want to go."

She snorted. "Do you really think I had a choice in the matter?"

"Of course you did."

"You're kidding, right? Refusing them is impossible," Karin sighed, recalling her moment of weakness before she agreed to go. It was like they had a superpower that just wouldn't let you turn them down.

He smirked slightly, finally looking up to look at the irritated girl. "I suppose I agree with you on that, though I still can't go. I have a week worth's of Matsumoto's paperwork to finish by tomorrow morning."

Grumbling a few not so nice words, Karin left the 10th Division barracks with a scowl. She really didn't know what she was hoping for- it was obvious he wouldn't have come even if he did have time. Nonetheless, she was disappointed as she entered Momo's currently empty office. She plopped herself down on the chair and shuffled through the paperwork again, wanting to get her thoughts off of Toshiro's beautiful face and velvety voice... No, no, no! She couldn't think about him like that! Determined to forget, she pulled out a brush and dipped it in the black ink resting on the desk.

About an hour later, the lieutenant of the 5th came into her office, finding that her paperwork was being done by her third seat again. She really felt rather guilty about letting the cycle continue, but reasoned that working must be some kind of form of coping mechanism. She was reminded of Toshiro's habit of working hours upon hours when a stressful situation arose and smiled.

Momo approached the teen at the desk. "I'll get you some more ink," she said softly.

The dark haired woman looked up and grinned thankfully at her. "Thanks."

For two more hours, Momo watched Karin's troubled face melt into a more relaxed one, though her calm visage wouldn't last long before contorting into one of frustrated embarrassment every little while. Momo thought it was the cutest face Karin has ever shown.

"Why don't you go to the training dojo?" Momo asked suddenly, recalling that it was usually a 3rd seat's job to train the unranked officers and her nonexistent visits to that area of the 5th.

And as the words left the bun haired woman's mouth, she heard the sound of shattering glass. Looking down to the splatter of black ink on the wooden floors, Momo and Karin rushed to find a rag.

"Sorry," Karin apologized with a sheepish grin.

"It's alright," the other replied with a soft smile. It was times like these that Karin was reminded of Yuzu, her other half. Momo's girly nature and bubbly attitude left Karin missing her cute twin sister every day. Yuzu was probably a wreck right now, Karin surmised, knowing full well how her tenderness made her weak to anything tragic. Not wanting to think about sad things, Karin cleaned up the rest of the mess, indifferent to the sticky, black ink that now soaked her hands.

"I was kinda banned from the dojo for a while," Karin said a bit embarrassedly.

Momo's eyes widened. "What happened?"

Karin scratched the back of her head, not knowing where to start. "Well, I was demonstrating something in the dojo," she began, chuckling awkwardly, "and I kinda blew it up." The last part was spoken so quickly Momo almost hadn't caught it. "I didn't release my shikai or anything, it just sort of happened."

Aware that her mouth was hanging open, the lieutenant closed it and stood there shell shocked. "How was I not aware of this?" she wondered aloud.

Karin shrugged. "I've actually been wondering that myself."

Aghast at her obliviousness, Momo sat down with wide eyes. "Have the repairs been finished?"

"Yeah, they have, but Captain Kuchiki's been a little pissed at us since some debris landed on his Division's property."

"I suppose worse could have happened," Momo sighed. "Did you apologize to him?"

"Yeah, but you know him; prissy bastard," she muttered, hiding her secret fondness for the prudent Captain.

After the two had finished their paperwork, Momo suggested a quick dinner at a local ramen shop.

Karin shook her head. "Nah, I'm beat. I think I'll head home for tonight. 'Night, Momo," she said, heading off to her dorm.

When Karin got home that night, she changed into a pair of shorts and one of Ichigo's baggy t- shirts Rukia brought her. Lying down on her bed, she thought about all of the recent events in her life; her death, her position as a 3rd seat in the Gotei 13, everything. And as she fell asleep that night, she wondered whether it was ok for her to be this happy without her family.

('.')…

"Only two hours left!" Rangiku squealed eagerly.

"Two hours until what?" Karin asked in a daze.

"The dance of course!" the busty blonde cried out happily.

Kurosaki's head snapped up. "Wasn't it just a social gathering, or something?"

"What did you think you did at a social gathering?"

"Talk and eat stuff, not dance!"

Matsumoto placed her hands at her flaring hips. "Of course you talk and eat. You just dance too! And it's a western themed party, by the way. Momo and I have already prepared everything so all you need to do is wear the dress."

"A dress?" Karin repeated, horrified. "No way!" she exclaimed, taking a step back. "That's taking it too far!"

The blonde took a step forward with a slight frown on her face. "I didn't want to go to these extreme measures but…" _I'm really curious to who you like._ She lunged at her and called out for three ninja- like shinigami who captured the young girl.

Two hours later, Karin was successfully in a simple, black dress that reached her mid thigh. Her hair was, for the first time in life, curled and kempt. She flailed her arms fruitlessly as Momo and Rangiku held her down and effectively applied a reasonable amount of makeup, or what Karin deemed 'gunk', on her face. It was a horrifying experience for the girl, to say the least, and she was surprised she'd survived it.

When they were all done, the busty woman led Karin to a full length mirror to show her the end product of their hard work. They all stared in appreciation at the girl staring back at them. And Karin thought for the first time in her life that she was actually decent looking. Maybe Yuzu didn't get all the looks after all.

She turned back to her friends and grinned. "Thanks, guys."

The two women behind her were tearing up comically as they left for the party.

('.')…

When the three women entered the room, Karin could feel the room's attention drifting to them. Through the dim lighting, Karin could see the lustful glances coming from the men and envious glares from the women toward her party. She thought she was going have to teach someone a lesson about staring until Kyoraku Shunsui walked to them with an unusually healthy looking Ukitake Jushiro at his side.

"You all look lovely," complimented Ukitake who was wearing a black suit and tie like the rest of the male shinigami.

"Thank you," Momo replied cheerfully. "You look much healthier tonight, Captain Ukitake."

He chuckled lightly. "Ah, well, I didn't want to miss out on this event," he said, looking over to Karin expectantly. "May I ask where Captain Hitsugaya is?"

"Captain's working," Rangiku answered. "I wish he'd just come have some fun for once," she huffed crabbily.

"That's a shame," the silver haired shinigami said, exchanging disappointed looks with his companion.

As the night went by, Karin and her friends chatted and laughed. She even danced a little with a few friends- both male and female- but didn't seem attracted to anyone particular.

_The night is still young, she'll reveal her crush sooner or later, _a hopeful Matsumoto thought as she downed another cup of sake.

('.')…

On the other end of the Divisions, Hitsugaya Toshiro was working quickly to finish his paperwork in the 10th. He sighed as he finished the third stack. While he didn't mind working very much, the thought of doing someone else's work made his blood boil.

_Damn Matsumoto,_ he cursed.

The next hour consisted of harsh profanities and a lot of ink. When he was finally done his last report, he found his hand stiff and sore. He flexed his fingers until he felt proper circulation in his arm. Toshiro looked at the clock and saw that it was only 12:35 PM; a lot earlier than he expected. He was honestly a bit confused as to what he should do; he surprisingly didn't want to sleep, but there wasn't much to do in the middle of the night.

_I was wondering if you wanted to go to the social gathering thing._

_That's right, the party was tonight_, he realized. He considered going for a moment before deciding to just drop by for a moment if it wasn't over yet.

Using his impressive reiatsu detection skills, Toshiro closed his eyes and honed his senses to the gathering location. When he felt a rather large crowd still in the 8th division headquarters, he left the office with well hidden eagerness.

He went home and dressed in a black suit before heading off to the social gathering. There were about three dozen inside the large room when he walked in. He stood at the entrance and immediately received a bone crushing hug from his drunken lieutenant and polite nods from the other officers. Well, except Karin, that is; she sat alone at a table looking bored out of her mind.

For a reason entirely unknown to him, he couldn't move; his heart stopped and his breath caught, but he couldn't force himself any closer to the raven haired beauty. Moments passed before he could slow his heart rate and harden his façade long enough to approach her.

_I should visit Unohana later,_ he thought, shaking the strange feeling aside.

(On the other side of the room, Ukitake and Kyoraku exchanged looks of hopefulness and excitement.)

Toshiro approached the girl's table with his usual scowl plastered on his face. "Having fun?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tons," the Kurosaki replied dryly. "What are you doing here, Captain? I thought you had a mountain of paperwork to do."

He shrugged. "I finished earlier than expected."

She nodded, going back to staring at nothing.

The two lapsed into a bout of silence. Toshiro glanced over to Karin, who looked as bored as he felt.

"Do you want to dance?" he suddenly asked, stretching out his arm and awkwardly avoiding her gaze. "We might as well since I came."

Karin felt her heartbeat quicken as she sat there shocked. Not trusting herself to speak while looking at his face, she took his hand and hid her face behind her long hair. Electricity shot through her body as she stretched her arms out to meet at the nape of his neck while he rested his hands on her waist. The feeling was indescribable, she thought as she swayed to the suddenly too romantic music.

"So, how's life?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

He shrugged. "Same as always, I suppose."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Neither."

There was quiet once again as the music replaced the sound of their voices. Karin tried to keep her focus off of the snowy haired man's face for fear of discovery. She couldn't let him know how much power he had over her. But being this close to him made her feel so helpless and weak, yet she didn't mind at all. Not one bit. All she wanted to do at that point was confess to him- say how much she cared for him, perhaps even loved him. But she already knew how that would turn out; heartbreak, pity and probably even an unfixable friendship. No, she couldn't take that chance; she couldn't lose him even if it meant feeling helpless and miserable. She could be satisfied with just friendship, right? Right… or at least she had to be.

Unable to keep up her self control, Karin decided to take a quick peek up at the Captain. His icy eyes met hers, making them both freeze. And for some unexplainable reason, he just couldn't tear his gaze from those stunning granite eyes. Nothing in that moment made sense to him; the magnetic pull that he worked so hard to resist, the strange sense of longing when he looked at her. It was all so strange but nothing Unohana couldn't fix, right? No… something inside him could tell this was nothing kido or human medicine could fix.

So he stood there staring into her widened eyes, unaware of why he was so enchanted. There was nothing particular about her, though he had to admit, looks wise, she was attractive, though not eye catching like Inoue or Matsumoto. Personality wise, she was defiantly special. Her personality could only be described as… explosive; ill tempered, dangerous and powerful. And Karin, in his opinion, was his opposite, yet the only one who truly understood him perfectly and utterly.

Letting his body go on autopilot, he danced with distant eyes. But when he stopped again, Karin couldn't help but force her gaze off of the floor and onto the Captain. She watched with a bemused expression as Toshiro leaned forward. She couldn't help but wonder as he got closer whether he could hear her heart pounding in her ribcage.

She felt his warm breath barely brush her cheek as she started leaning in as well...

…until the door slammed open. The whole room looked to their latecomer as the startled couple in the middle pulled apart as fast as they could, trying to seem casual.

"I heard there was a party," a distinctive male voice yelled.

Karin recognized that voice.

"Ichigo!"

**(A/N): This was such a hard chapter to write for some reason… was it interesting? Was it alright or bad? Comment please! Criticism is much appreciated as well :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Ichigo!" the raven haired teen yelled happily. She ran over to her brother and punched his arm. "What took you so long to get here?!" she exclaimed.

"Karin? What's with the dress?" he asked, almost in a scared manner.

She sighed and directed a pointed look to Momo and Rangiku. "Don't ask."

Ichigo was about to ask her a boatload of questions until an exasperated voice cut him off.

"I believe she asked you a question earlier, Kurosaki," Toshiro sighed, sensing the countless questions Kurosaki was about to ask. He was leaning on the wall a few feet away from the two, sorely disappointed by the interruption. He may not have fully understood his feelings towards her, but he damn well knew a moment when he saw one. He sighed again and walked over to the punch bowl, knowing full well that Rangiku probably spiked it with sake. He took some and drank it, watching the Kurosaki reunion through half lidded eyes.

"Right," Ichigo agreed. He looked at Karin with an awkward expression, scratching the back of his head. "Well, Yuzu was pretty torn up about… what happened," he paused, obviously still not comfortable with the girl's death, "so Rukia and I told her about the Soul Society… and Urahara is training her to see spirits now."

Her grin faded immediately. "What?!" she yelled. "What do you mean 'training her to see spirits'? You trust that lunatic with Yuzu?" she erupted.

"_You _trusted him," he pointed out, "and there's obviously someone or some_thing_ out there in Karakura. I'll make sure she never has to use her training, but for now, it's safer for her if she can defend herself," he said sternly.

"You're kidding, right? She could get hurt!"

"I know that," he sighed. "But she has to learn."

"What the hell?" Karin yelled. "I thought you weren't ever going to involve her in stuff like this! Look what happened to me! You said you'll protect her, not make her protect herself!"

"You know there's something out there, I can't protect her all the time!"

"And yet you thought you could protect me?" she hissed.

He flinched and recoiled. "Yeah, I did." He hung his head and sighed. "I thought I was protecting you by hiding the truth and keeping you two from fighting, but now I can see that I haven't been helping you guys at all. I guess I need to let you guys in so that you'll let me protect you when I can and avoid getting hurt when I can't." He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "Iloveyouguys," he mumbled.

She raised a brow. "What?"

"I said, I love you guys," he admitted with a light blush. Touchy feely moments weren't his thing.

Her expression softened and she smiled. "We love you too, brother," she said, giving him another playful punch. "So you trust us to be on our own?" Karin inquired.

"I guess," he gritted out. He hated to admit it, but his little sisters weren't so little anymore. He smiled nostalgically, remembering when little Karin and Yuzu were too scared to go to the bathroom alone at night. He ruffled her nicely done hair and grinned. "You're doing pretty well, huh?"

She nodded, smiling back. "Yeah, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm doing alright here." Karin looked over to Toshiro for a second and grinned. "So, when are you going back ho- to the World of the Living?" She'd caught herself just in time, knowing it wasn't hers to call home anymore.

"In 2 days," he replied.

"That fast, huh?" she commented, disappointed by her brother's too short visit. "So where are you staying?"

"I was going to stay with you, but Rukia told me your place is too small to fit us both, so I'm staying with her."

A wicked grin spread across Karin's face. "You're staying at Rukia's place _alone_?" she asked, voice dripping with suggestive undertones.

His eyes widened. "I-it's not like that!" he insisted. He cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. "She lived in my closet for, like, a year! I'm- I'm just paying her back…"

"Yeah, I believe you," Karin replied sarcastically before looking around the now slightly less crowded room. "Where is Rukia anyway?"

He shrugged. "Probably sleeping," he said. The orange haired shinigami scanned the room for any people to greet. His eyes fell onto Toshiro. His eyes widened in shock. "Whoa, Toshiro, did you grow?"

"It's Captain Hitsugaya to you, Kurosaki," he snapped. "And are you blind, or just idiotic?" he asked rhetorically, pushing himself off the wall to the door.

"You haven't changed," Ichigo smirked.

Karin smiled a bit before she walked over to the cool Captain. "Hey, Toshiro," Karin called.

He turned to face her with his usual passive expression. "What is it, Kurosaki?"

She scowled. "Call me Karin," she said with a frown.

"That isn't proper."

She rolled her eyes. "Why isn't it? We've been friends for, like, seven years now!"

"It's only been six, Kurosaki, and it isn't appropriate because you are a lower ranking subordinate-"

"Who is your best friend," Karin interjected. "And as your best friend, I demand you call me by my first name."

Now he rolled his eyes. "What gave you the impression that we were best friends? I don't recall ever hinting that we were even friends."

Toshiro saw her eyes flicker with pain for a moment before she crossed her arms and masked the look of hurt with fake nonchalance. "So we're not friends?" she asked, feigning indifference.

He swallowed, his mouth feeling drier by the second. He felt cornered. Of course he saw her as a friend, perhaps even his best friend, like she'd said before. But it would give others the idea that he was friendable, which would ruin the stoic, cold reputation he'd built for himself to gain respect. What if openly accepting a friendship ruined that? Would he lose respect from his other subordinates?

She let out a humorless laugh. "Wow, I guess I was just deluding myself by thinking the Ice King had a heart," she said bitterly. She said a quick goodbye to Ichigo, who was being hoarded by old shinigami acquaintances, and left the party.

**(A/N): Hello, people who are reading this! I'm so sorry that this was updated a lot later than I planned and I know it wasn't that interesting but I couldn't think of anything interesting to put in this chapter so… I'm sorry! You guys are super awesome for putting up with this story. Review please!**


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